Jamaican ska legends Toots and the Maytals are coming to Philadelphia to bring their upbeat style to the stage. The band is responsible for a staggering 28 studio albums, releasing music since the early 1960s. Toots and Maytals will be playing at the Trocadero this Tuesday, April 10th, and we are giving away a pair of tickets on The Key — leave a comment below for your chance to win. Below, watch a video of the group playing their song “Monkey Man” at 2009′s Reggae Rising.
The Trocadero
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Tonight’s Concert Picks: The Bad Doctors at The Trocadero, Cappadonna at The Blockley
Philly post-punk trio The Bad Doctors play The Trocadero balcony tonight. With new-wave vocals augmented by relentless, driving arrangements the band’s handful of releases, including 2011′s ear catching EP Distractions, are a small but impressive sampling of what these guys are capable of. Dig into their Key Studio Session from November 2011 here and take note of stand-out tracks “The Big Bang” and “The Ugliest Man.” Tickets and information for tonight’s all-ages show with FIGO and The Killing Floor can be found here. Stream and download “The Big Bang” below.
Tonight’s Concert Picks: DeVotchKa at The Trocadero, Django Django at Union Transfer, Norwegian Arms at PhilaMOCA, Brethren at The Grape Room
Denver’s DeVotchKa bring their chamber orchestra project to The Trocadero tonight. After recording a live album with the Colorado Symphony at Red Rocks Amphitheater, the Eastern European-influenced quartet hit the road with a chamber orchestra to bring the full and intricate layers of an orchestral performance to smaller stages. The band is also testing out new material that will be recorded as a follow-up to 2011′s 100 Lovers. Tickets and information for tonight’s all-ages show with Pearl and the Beard can be found here. Below, watch DeVotchKa perform “All the Sand in All the Sea” live at Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony.
Tonight’s Concert Picks: Stars at The Trocadero, Delta Rae with ZZ Ward at The TLA, Drums Like Machine Guns at Kung Fu Necktie
Following up on their their well-recieved 2012 LP The North, Montreal synth pop outfit Stars bring their live show to Philly tonight for a date at The Trocadero with Milo Greene. With a brighter and more positive sound and outlook than their brooding 2010 release The Five Ghosts, the new songs should work well towards warming the crowd on a chilly Wednesday night. Los Angeles indie group Milo Greene opens, tickets and information can be found at the WXPN Concert Calendar. Below, watch the band perform “The North” live at Tornto radio station The Edge.
Just Announced: Peter Murphy performing the music of Bauhaus at The Troc on May 9th
This just in: goth-punk icon Peter Murphy will be touring this spring, but not behind his recent solo album Ninth. Instead, the founder and frontman of Bauhaus will perform a set of all Bauhaus material to celebrate the influential group’s 35th anniversary. The tour comes to The Trocadero on Thursday, May 9th for a 21+ show, and tickets go on sale Friday, March 8th at noon. Below, watch the music video for the Bauhaus classic “Dancing” and after the jump, watch a few other Bauhaus songs that aren’t “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” we’d like to see Murphy perform at the show.
Contest: Win tickets to see DeVotchKa at The Troc on March 8th
There’s a lot of excitement around the XPN offices for DeVotchKa‘s Philly appearance next week. Part of it lies in the fact that the eclectic, eastern European-infused indie band is road-testing its first batch of new songs since 2011′s 100 Lovers. Part of it is the studio session they’ll be recording for Folkadelphia, stripped down and with a string section. And part of it is because the band always puts on a great performance – and today we’ve got your chance to check it out for yourself.
Leave a comment below to enter yourself in the running for a pair of tickets to see DeVotchKa at The Troc next Friday, March 8th. We’ll announce a winner on Thursday afternoon. Ground rules: you have to leave your first and last name in the comments, and you have to enter an email where we can contact you if you win (the e-mail will not be made public). Got it? Good. Now watch this video of DeVotchKa performing with an orchestra at Red Rocks Amphitheater and imagine how good they’ll sound next week.
Listen to Josh Ritter’s The Beast In Its Tracks via NPR Music First Listen (playing The Trocadero on 5/16)
Even though his Josh Ritter‘s new album The Beast In Its Tracks was written in the wake of his divorce, it doesn’t sound like a breakup album. The album is out on March 5th via Pytheas Recordings, and as NPR Music points out in its First Listen premier of the record, “gentility and empathy are wired into Ritter’s songwriting” so much that the album can be upbeat and even funny while also being profoundly sad. NPR’s Stephen Thompson writes:
The Beast in Its Tracks mostly hovers in a fascinating spot, where Ritter’s emotional timeline is concerned: Even in the album’s darkest moments, he’s more bruised than wounded, yearning to compartmentalize and preserve the happy memories that remain, and recovered enough to delight in fresh romantic encounters. He’s a man trying on newfound wisdom and finding that it doesn’t always fit, but he lands in a meaningful place: processing a breakup as the necessary catalyst for a new reality in which everyone has a shot at happiness.
Josh Ritter and The Royal City Band play The Trocadero with The Felice Brothers on Thursday, May 16. Listen to The Beast In Its Tracks in its entirety here.